Blackstone (BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman said Thursday that “a fast resolution” to President Trump’s tariff talks with other countries is critical to keep the economy on a “growth path.”
Schwarzman, a billionaire GOP donor who was one of Trump’s biggest backers on Wall Street during the 2024 campaign, made the comments after his private equity firm reported first quarter earnings.
He noted that it was “too early” to assess the full impact of tariffs since that still depends on the outcome of negotiations with other countries. Trump paused many of his so-called reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to give trade talks more time.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
The “most important questions are how sustained will this period of uncertainty be, and what are the second-order consequences, both domestically and for foreign countries,” he added. “We believe a fast resolution is critical to mitigate risks and keep the economy on a growth path.”
Schwarzman also offered an assessment of the potential impact on Blackstone, which has huge holdings of real estate, private companies, and other assets.
There may be a “potentially material impact to a relatively small group of our [portfolio] companies,” he said, but higher costs and reduced supply are also “supportive for real estate values,” as long as there isn’t a recession.
Read more: What is a recession, and how does it impact you?
Schwarzman became the latest Wall Street CEO to weigh in on the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs, which have roiled markets and created new uncertainty about the future of the US economy.
Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon said that the prospect of a recession “has increased.” JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said the economy faces “considerable turbulence,” with a recession as a “likely outcome.” Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan said his bank’s research team didn’t see a recession happening but acknowledged that “we potentially face a changing economy in the future.”
Schwarzman wasn’t the only Blackstone executive who had some things to say about Trump’s tariffs on Thursday.
Blackstone chief operating officer Jon Gray, widely viewed as Schwarzman’s eventual successor, said an economic slowdown would produce elevated corporate defaults in certain parts of the economy, like retail and manufacturing.
But, he added, “I just don’t see it on a really broad base unless the economy slows much more than we expect.”
